Flying the Canadair

...at last

All the planets, including Pluto, finally aligned to provide an opportunity to get the Canadair in the air. All flight modifications had been completed, with the water rudder deleted, differential thrust programmed and the wing-float angle modified. All this with a plane I'd got as an easy-flying companion to the touchy Trainstar floatplane!

It was a lovely spring afternoon with just a moderate south westerly breeze as I turned into the still-open gates to the lake. Unpacking the Canadair I wasted no time in getting it onto the water, first trying a few mock takeoff runs which showed that the wing-float modification was working a charm, allowing the Canadair to run up to planing speed without risk of submarining.

However, realising that I was on the wrong side of the lake for the breeze, I left the Canadair floating mid-stream and sprinted to the the other side of the lake at a moderate pace. Finding the Canadair still out of the weeds, I taxied it over and lined it up for takeoff.

The first attempt was both alarming and laughable. Running the Canadair up to speed with full elevator, as I do to prevent the Trainstar from nosing in, the plane lept almost vertically into the air, dropping a wing in the process. Over-correcting, it then lurched in the opposite direction before finally flopping down onto the lake, its airspeed exhausted.

Trying again with just a touch of elevator had the Canadair executing a perfect lift-off, blurring the line between floating and flying as it eased off the water. As with the Trainstar, finally getting the Canadair into the air was a major achievement, although actually flying it was a breeze. Unlike it's companion, the Canadair is light and highly powered, making it easy to fly. Its abundance of stabilisers, winglets and large control surfaces also makes it easy to control.

Landing it was also pretty easy, again being light it slows down very quickly and, being low to the water, is pretty stable. So, now that it's all set up, I'm now looking forward to some relaxed flying with the Canadair...